A just-released
survey by Probolsky Research shows that most California voters now oppose new
or increased local taxes. A majority, 55.5 percent, would vote “no” on a local
measure that would increase taxes in order to maintain service levels, while
only 34.8 percent would vote “yes.”

Admittedly, a
poll is just a snapshot of attitudes during a moment in time and those views
can change in response to new information. For example, in November of last
year, San Diegans elected a new mayor—an election being the ultimate poll of
public sentiment. Now that the new mayor is facing multiple accusations of
sexual harassment, many of his top supporters are calling for his resignation,
and were an election—or poll—held today, it is quite certain the mayor would
come out on the losing end.

Last fall,
voters approved Proposition 30, a $50 billion tax hike that increased income
taxes on the upper-middle class and wealthy and a sales taxes on everyone. This
lead many on the left side of the political spectrum to pronounce that the last
vestiges of the California Tax Revolt of 1978, which gave us Proposition 13,
had collapsed and the public was anxious to usher in a new long-term era of
higher taxes.

The Probolsky
survey of voter attitudes toward local taxes provides a strong indication that
the Left’s expectations were premature and that the Sacramento tax-and-spend
lobby may be a victim of both its own success and excess. After all,
Proposition 30 was sold as a solution to the state’s perennial budget problems
and as the salvation of public education.

While voters
acquiesced to a higher tax burden, they now see that there is enough money to
provide the governor and lawmakers with a 5.2 percent raise and a 4.5 percent
increase for state workers. Looks like they have come to the logical conclusion
that government is doing well enough.

Those in government
will make the argument that state and local taxes are not the same because they
fund different services. Thus, even if voters don’t want to spend more locally
this doesn’t mean they don’t want more money to go to Sacramento.

But this
argument ignores the real-world concerns of taxpayers. Former Speaker of the
House Tip O’Neil coined the phrase, “All politics is local.” In one sense, so
too are taxes since they come from the locality of the taxpayer’s wallet. When
arguments are made that some level of government needs more, the taxpayer’s
first reaction is to look to see how much it will cost them.

If they have
little or nothing to give, arguments about the competing needs of federal,
state or local government don’t get much traction. By passing Proposition 30,
voters believe they have done their part and government at all levels should
make do with what they have.

Further evidence
that resistance to new taxes is strong is revealed by the response to another
poll question. Voters in general have a positive view of their local elected
officials. With this in mind, if they are not willing to give more money to
local officials who have their support, why would anyone think they would want
to provide more to the Sacramento politicians, who fare much worse in public
opinion surveys?